Ospreys Never Stop Building

BirdNote^®

Ospreys Never Stop Building 

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

 [Osprey calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/25638027, .01-.07]

Ospreys are remarkable nest builders. Many reuse their massive stick nests from the previous year, but continue tinkering with it once the nesting season begins. The male collects dead branches from the ground or snaps them off nearby trees, then brings them to the female at last year’s nest where she arranges them. Right after the eggs hatch, there may be another surge of building.  

[Osprey calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/116288641, 0.23-25]

Older chicks in the nest often pitch in, helping rearrange sticks. The nest may expand to five feet across or more. And it transforms along with the growing chicks. It’s bowl-shaped at first, but it gets flatter after the chicks hatch. A rim helps corral the young birds, but by the time they fledge, it has fully flattened out. 

[Osprey calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/116288641, 0.23-25]

Ospreys may build alternate nests in the vicinity of their initial nest, which can be used if the original nest fails. Or, if the male can attract a second mate, he may use the alternate nest for another, simultaneous brood.

For an Osprey with two nests, the building truly never stops!

[Osprey calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/116288641, 0.23-25]

For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.
                                                                         ###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Osprey ML 116288641 recorded by J. McGowan, “stream moderate” recorded by Gordon Hempton
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote   May 2021 / August 2023   

Narrator: Mary McCann

ID#  OSPR-07-2021-5-27        OSPR-07